Goodbye
by Project MJOLNIR
Summary: All good things must come to an end and in a time of war, sometimes you have to say goodbye to the one closest to you. In a time of war, there is a season for everything. Marcus has to say goodbye to his last brother.


It would be a very long day for the Delta Squad. After using the lightmass bomb in the Locust tunnels, their numbers had been decreasing. That was until they heard that there had been a large number of Locust had destroyed a stranded camp. With their fuel being scares, there will be no vehicle to drive, so it would be a long walk to see if there were any survivors.

And Baird's mouth was on overdrive today.

Marcus ignored Baird as he lead Dom, Cole and Baird across Sera. Since Dom had found Maria in the Locust tunnels, he had become much quieter than normal and very withdrawn from everybody. Even Marcus. Since Marcus was there by his side when they had found her, he had become increasingly worried about his brother.

Most of the walk was Baird complaining, but nobody felt like to shut him up. By now, they were used to him and his big mouth. That and it also kept away the deafening silence. Baird was like a Chihuahua. All bark and no bite when he got scared. The camp itself wasn't too far away, but it was listening to Baird's constant complaining that made the trip seem much longer than it really was. They just didn't think that today's events would be changing their life forever.

Marcus held up a hand. "Shh. Do you guys hear that?"

They didn't have to wait long for that distant rumbling which was quickly approaching. It was a deep sound that shook the ground under them. Something that all the Gears knew all too well. It was the big sign that the Locust was approaching.

"Get ready!" Marcus said. "The sinkhole can open up anywhere."

Everyone checked their weapon, and tightened their grips. Like always, they were ready for the sinkhole to open. That is when the fight would begin soon. Just as they thought, several hundred feet away, the sinkhole opened up, swallowing everything that was around it, the Locust came pouring out, their weapons in hand, ready to attack.

And they just kept coming.

"Where the hell did all these Locust come from?" Dom asked in surprise.

"Who knows?" Marcus replied from his right.

"Whoo!" came Cole's loud cry as he opened fire.

Everybody took cover behind the closest object that will prote4ct them from any enemy gunfire and returned fire themselves. From burnt out cars to broken down buildings and whatever else that could protect them. There seemed to be no end to their enemies' attack.

"Somebody needs to throw a grenade into that sinkhole? We need to get it closed up already!" Marcus shouted over the gunfire.

"I can see it from where I'm at!" Dom shouted back. "Hold on!"

Marcus watched as Dom ducked from cover to cover, getting closer to that sinkhole. Every few minutes, he would have to stay hidden as the Locust locked onto him, as they tried to keep him from closing up the sinkhole.

"Dom!" Marcus shouted into the radio, one finger in his ear. "Keep an eye on your left. You have a drone locked onto you."

"I see him." Dom replied. "I need somebody to give me cover so I can get a little closer."

"I got ya!" Cole said, creeping up a little further.

"I'm on the other side of the street." Marcus said, "Across from Cole. "I'll keep an eye out from this side.

The bullets rained down on them, punching holes in everything around them. Cole ducked down behind an old burnt out truck to reload. Across the street, hidden in a brick doorway as the bullets ricocheted off the bricks around him. Each time a bullet hit the bricks, chucks would go flying off and Baird would flinch.

The sinkhole was now just a few yards away, and he could see several more Locust emerging with their weapons in their hands. I huge pair of gray hands landed on the edge of the hole, pulling up a huge beast with a huge weapon.

"Boomer!" Dom shouted. "Watch out guys!"

"BOOM!" came the deep rumbling voice, followed by the sound of its large weapon going off. Seconds later, there was a huge explosion, sending asphalt and debris into the air, momentarily making it difficult to see. Everybody took cover, covering their heads and hoping that it would be difficult for the Locust to see as well.

Dom knew that the sinkhole needed to be closed up as soon as possible. Already there was too many Locust. Any more and there would be no way that they would be walking away from this fight. Taking out a grenade, Dom stepped out from his hiding spot. Giving the grenade a few test swings before finally letting it go. Everybody watched as it arched into the air and landing several feet away from the sinkhole and rolled.

Everybody held a collective breath as the grenade very slowly made its way toward the sinkhole. The closer it got, the slower it rolled, getting to the point where everybody though it might fall short of the hole. Just as it got to the edge, the grenade exploded, filling up the hole. For a moment, Dom had forgotten about the Boomer.

"Boom!" was heard, then the wound of the weapon going off.

There was no time to react as the ammo whizzed through the air in the direction of Dom, The ground under his feet disintegrated and he was hurled into the air, surrounded by dirt and debris. Everything seemed upside down for several long seconds before his body slammed hard to the ground, knocking the air from his lungs and breaking several ribs.

He gasped for air and squeezed his eyes shut. Each breath he took caused sharp pains throughout his body.

"Dom!" Marcus' voice was much closer now.

Marcus' large hand touched his shoulder and once again a sharp pain shot through his body. He screamed out in pain, and even that caused him pain.

"Ah! Please don't touch me! Oh fuck!" He took slow, uneven breaths. "I-I'm pretty sure I broke some ribs. H-Hurts just to breathe…"

"We'll get you out of here. Just hold on."

Dom smiled weakly, as his breaths became slower and slower and shallower.

"N-No! Dom keep your eyes open! Don't you dare close your eyes!"

Marcus suddenly noticed the silence around him. The rest of Delta Squad had finished off the rest of the Locust and stood nearby, not sure what they could do. Each time Marcus spoke, they could hear the emotion in his voice.

"Dom!" he paused and put a finger to his ear. "Control, this is Delta."

"Go ahead Delta." Came Anya's calm response.

"We need a emergency medavac. Dom is currently a tango three."

Anya's voice instantly lost all its calmness. "I'll have a raven inbound to you in five minutes. Just hold tight."

"Thanks Anya."

Marcus kneeled beside Dom once more and held his hand.

"Just hold on, Dom." Marcus said. "A raven will be here in a few minutes. It won't be much longer. "

Dom opened his dark eyes and smiled weakly. Blood spilled over his laps and down his dark bearded chin.

"Come on, Dom. Just hold on. Please, just a little bit longer. The Raven will be here real soon."

His heart was breaking. If he lost his other brother, he didn't know if he would be able to continue on. Through all this crazy war, it was his brother that kept him sane.

"Marcus." Dom's voice was so quiet that Marcus had to lean forward to hear him better. "Marcus, don't beat yourself up for this. It's not your fault. And don't go doing anything stupid."

Marcus shook his head. "Don't. Don't give up on me. Just hold on. The Raven is on its way. You just have to stay strong. We'll get you to the hospital and Doc Haymen. Please."

Again Dom smiled. In the distance, they could hear the loud roar of the approaching raven.

"Dom." Marcus said. "It's almost…"

"Look, Marcus. Do NOT blame yourself for this. This is not your fault. That sinkhole had to be closed up before any more Locust emerged. I chose to take that chance. Take Anya on that date already. She's been waiting. You can't go keep a lady waiting."

Marcus shook his head, tears filling his blue eyes. There was a sadness that he had always kept hidden from the world, but today he was just unable to hide. Marcus was now losing his last brother and it felt as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

"Marcus?" Dom's voice was getting worried with each passing moment. "I-I'm so sorry…"

Dom felt his body grow cold, then his last breath left his lungs. Every muscle in his body went limp, his hand slipped away from Marcus' and fell to the ground with a dull thump.

At that moment, Marcus felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. Throwing his head back, he screamed, a pain filled, heart breaking scream at the cloudless skies and there was nothing anybody could do to make him feel better right at this moment.

The raven landed several yards away and the medic team jumped out only to stop in their tracks. Their tango three was now tango four. There is nothing they could do for him now. They stood there, letting Marcus grieve for his brother. His whole body shook with each sob, his face buried against Dom's chest plate. With his last brother gone, he was now alone.

After several long minutes, Marcus removed Dom's tags and let the med team load him into the raven. Hesitantly, one of the medics approached Marcus.

"If you would like, you can accompany him back to base."

Marcus turned to look at the man, his filthy face streaked with tears and said, "No, I have to finish what we started and get all of Delta back safely. "

Before anybody could argue with him, Marcus held up a hand to silence them. There was nothing anybody could stay to change his mind.

The raven took off minutes later, taking Dom back to base. Marcus watched for a moment longer before continuing forward.

Later that day, Delta returned to base and by then, EVERYBODY knew about Dom's death. Every person they passed had a sympathetic look, some even spoke a few words of condolences which Marcus barely heard. He felt like he was on autopilot.

His feet took him down the filthy road toward the hospital. Dom's tags were now firmly attached to his own, right beside Carlos'. The last of the Santiago brothers, knew he had to survive this war and live on for his brothers.

Anya stood in front of the hospital, waiting for him. Her uniform was spotless without any wrinkles, and her blonde hair perfectly pinned in place. She had always been in the control room, away from the fighting, but still knew what was going on. She had known exactly when Delta Squad had returned and she wanted to be with Marcus when he went to go say goodbye to Dom.

She never spoke as Marcus approached, his light blue eyes brimming with tears. She had only seen Marcus like this once before, when Carlos died, but other than that, he had always kept himself in control of his emotions.

Marcus felt Anya's slim hand against his and their fingers intertwined. Her hands felt so warm against his cold ones. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and with Anya and the rest of Delta by his side, they walked into the hospital to say goodbye to Dom one last time.

THE END

NOTE: So normally I write really sad stories about Baird, but I thought I would change things up. Thank you everybody for following me and all the reviews. I really hope you enjoy this!


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